The Miracle at Zend
Arrival What little is known truthfully about Zend is that he was human born to the Republic, that he had a strange affinity with the Endless remnants known as dust, and that he singlehandedly perpetuated the Republic's existence in the Thousand Year War. The year was 3718, in an uncolonized star system orbiting a massive jungle planet. The Empire had slowly been building up its strength in the Star System, and was about to push the offensive against the Republic to end the war once and for all. All Republic counterattacks had failed, and so their forces were gathered elsewhere in a vain attempt to fend off the coming invasion. The Emperor's Sword had been redeployed, but the Emperor's Hammer, commanded by Admiral Marcus Flint and accompanied by a contingent of smaller fleets, sat in orbit protecting the second MAC Railgun ever built. Though no less costly than its predecessor, the MAC had been built in a fraction of the time, a testament to Empire enginuity and industry. It was then that a single frigate, identified as a vessel stolen from drydock on the Empirical Planet Adeus I, appeared in the system. The Empire's fleet did not immediately open fire, believing it to be one of their own, or at least no threat to a fleet their size. A single transmission was sent from the frigate; "Leave now." Admiral Flint laughed at the transmission, and told one of his cruisers to open fire. Things go south Then the electronics in every ship in the fleet began to fail. Systems shut down and engines malfuctioned, weapons powered down and communication immediately went dark. Pieces of dust swirled through the fleet, a rising tumult of energy and trans-dimensional particles. Slowly, the ships began to turn towards the planet below. And then they were restarted. The MAC cannon went first, an enormous hulk of a warship that fell awfully, almost silently to the surface. The explosion was incredible, the destruction laying waste to an entire planet. The strain of such an enormous object must have been almost too much for Zend. It was the only reason why many of the Empire's ships managed to break free and escape. The others were not so lucky, their hulls caved in by the pressure of a collision none of them were designed to withstand. When the attack finally broke, a third of the Empire's fleet was beyond repair, Admiral Flint included, and the MAC Railgun obliterated. The single most expensive piece of equipment in the fleet was now a broken hulk on an uncolonized world. Zend was discovered on the still intact frigate, the only crew member, his body torn by the strain of such a massive force. Scholars have tried to discover how he did it, and the current theory is that every piece of dust on board the ship, from coins to systems, bent to his will and exhibited properties unseen since the time of the Endless. Historians can all agree however, that Zend was a miracle for the Republic, boosting morale to its highest peak and prompting many more worlds to join their force. But the Mystery of Zend remained frustratingly unsolved. When the Republic later captured the system, they named it after the hero who sacrificed himself so that the Republic may expand its borders further. Result Horrendous loss for the Empire. Lost the MAC cannon attached to the Emperor's Sword, as well as several cruisers and frigates. Resulted in the acquisition of a new start System for the Republic. After a decade, the irradiated crash sites on the jungle planet (Zend I) became a tourist attraction. Thanks to Javarino for the story